Richard,
I do not have any answers but my history with tempranillo is like yours, too many new world styles with oak. I know there are many good ones out there but we need an expert. Where is Joe when you need him?
Walt

Walt and Joe, I think it might be a good idea to try and push for a region of Spain for an upcoming Wine Focus. I am looking at some wines from Calatayud right now, garnacha I believe. That is a nice summer red!!

What do you think? I am becoming an even bigger fan of Spain thanks to a local winestore which features Spain and Portugal very strongly.

Richard, thanks for posting this thread. Do you have a good choice in your area (Spain that is)?

**** yesterday I picked up the `05 Garnacha de Fuego (Bodegas Zabrin) for around $14 Cdn. An absolute bargain around here! Did a google and thought "wow, this will be good".

RichardAtkinson wrote:I used to drink quite a bit of Tempranillo, but quit when all of the old favorites started going to a more international style. Now that we live in a larger city, there are more choices.

But, I've been finding that a lot more producers are going international. Any reccos for a leaner style of Spanish Red...something more food friendly?

Thanks,

Richard

Richard, are you aware of this guy in Houston. Blue State Carpetbagger`s Red State Wine Blog?

Richard, are you aware of this guy in Houston. Blue State Carpetbagger`s Red State Wine Blog?

New one on me Bob.

Richard, thanks for posting this thread. Do you have a good choice in your area (Spain that is)?

No real favorites yet, Bob...but there are sooo many Spanish Wines available from the largest retailier (Spec's) But, rather than drink one oak bomb after another, I thought I'd inquire and narrow the field a bit.

Lou Kessler wrote:Muga Prado Enea---not Torre Muga Joe should tell you these things. I am not an expert on Spanish wines. Maybe VS will chime in?

Well, Muga has the Torre Muga and Aro. Murietta makes the Dalmau. Caceres makes the Gaudium. Riscal makes the Baron de Chirel...

It seems like most producers make an uber-modern cuvee. Just follow the old rule that: If the bottles heavy and expensive, pass. Thankfully, most of the above wines are hard to find and always have shelf talkers like "99 points!"

You wont see a number of the producers Victor listed, and a few that you will see are on the low-end of things. He does list a few good producers like Ramírez de la Piscina and Marqués de Vitoria that I had forgotten.

No tempranillo wine has ever been acid-driven. Tempranillo is a notoriously low-acid variety. The acidity in these traditional wines comes from either of these origins: 1) lots of mazuelo/carignan in the blend; 2) a generous dollop of tartaric acid (this is quite 'traditional', too); 3) a combination of 1) and 2).

Last bottle of Remelluri I had (I think it was a 1998) was very, very oaky. I haven't tried it in a better vintage to know if that was a stylistic issue or just a lighter vintage more dominated by its oak.

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